


A Night In

by kittyyzma



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 00:48:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8230478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyyzma/pseuds/kittyyzma
Summary: They've been avoiding the conversation. But, that can't always last





	

There’s a gap in the time between the moment they met and moment Ginny realized she likes Mike Lawson. She can’t really pinpoint the exact length of the process. But she would have to argue that he fell first because he’d say it was the opposite, and she couldn’t have that.

It was slow and it crept up on her. One day it was just trying to decide what works for them during games — building trust in a clubhouse that seems to only have wanted her out of the way — to sharing inside jokes and moments of unnecessary body contact.

They’ve become friends in a difficult time in both of their careers. He’s struggling with the realization that his body isn’t the same as it used to be while the entire country seems to want Ginny’s focus on everything but baseball.

  
She’s being thrust into the spotlight while he’s being moved out of it — though he’ll argue that he was never in the spotlight — but she doesn’t question him when he shrugs or makes a joke to change the subject. Most would find it dismissive, but she’s the same way. Ginny doesn’t take it personally, or as if it were her fault nor does he force anything on her.

She rolls her eyes at him as he holds one end of her red headphones away from her ear. “You in there, Rookie?” His voice cuts through the loudness of the music blasting in her ears.

  
A fond smile crosses her face and then it’s replaced by the annoyed expression only he can get out of her on command. He chuckles because he knows the nickname _Rookie_ isn’t exactly her idea of _cute_. He does it anyway. And she’s stopped correcting him. Besides, she doesn’t mind it. “I am… but I’m ignoring you.”

  
“What did I do?” He asks, leaning against the side of the bus to shift face her, his face reading as amused. “I was so nice today.”

Ginny snorts. “What don’t you do?” His brow quirks and he lifts a hand to rub his beard — and she scoffs because she knows he already has a smart ass response and is just waiting to be obnoxious — she doesn’t know why he likes to bug her. Maybe because he’s the only one who can get away with it. It’s the same way when the roles are reversed. Before either of them can speak again, something catches her eye. A small fleck of whatever in his hair, and then her hand is in his hair, picking off a speck of lint.

It’s stupid that that small action caused a lump to form in his throat. He internally rolls his eyes at himself. He smirks to cover up the fact that he has no idea what they were even talking about 5 seconds prior.

Ginny withdraws her hand, “ _What_?”

“Nothing…” he responds as if it were a question, and with a shrug and the clearing of his throat, he changed the subject, “We’re going out tonight…”

“ _What_?” She asks, eyes widened. And then he looks down at his phone to hide his maddening smile. She hates when he does that because he just knows it gets her every time.

“For drinks, with everyone? We win, we drink. It’s a rule…” he tucks his phone in the front pocket of his leather jacket — Blip told her once that Mike would want to be buried in it if possible — and then he wraps up his earbuds.

“You’re so spacey today…”

“I am not.”

“Are _too_ …” he counters teasingly.

  
“Am not.”

“Are too.” He tosses back, “I can do this for the rest of the ride back.”

She barks a laugh, shaking her head. “You’re so childish…” With anyone else, she’d say fuck off, but the playfulness between them always wins out. “Am _not._ ”

He points a finger in her face, smiling, “You _so_ are…” he laughs — the kind of laugh that lights up his whole face — and makes her smile.

Her expression deadpans as she fights the grin. He so stupid. _This is so stupid._ “I’m gonna bite your finger off one of these days…” He holds back a comment and shrugs, which only makes her want to ask him what he was going to say. But their teammates are eavesdropping and she isn’t prepared to live through the embarrassment of whatever sly comment Mike has come up with.

“Drinks it is…”

“Nope.” Ginny counters amusedly. The back and forth is fun.

“That wasn’t an option…” he whines. With a half hearted pout, he clutches his tired hand to his chest, “Are you calling me off? You know I _hate_ when— “

Ginny sucks her teeth and gives him a look. “It’s not even remotely the same thing…” she sees the completely overdramatized look of shock on his face and can’t help the snort that escapes her. When they first met, he was both serious and sort of just stayed out of her way — which obviously didn’t work considering how closely they have to be to get a good game out of their team — but now he’s there jokingly arguing with her over whether or not she feels like going out to drink cheap beer with a team she barely gets along with. Shaking her head, she fixes her cap, bending the rim with her hand. “I wanna be alone…”

“Ahh, no you don’t.”

Conversation dies down and they’re both satisfied with leaving it this way. She decides that she’s had enough music and tucks her headphones away into her bag. She can see him watching her as she sits beside him — he’s always looking at her the same way, with wonderment and curiosity — and it’s never bothered her. Her cheeks burn as she blushes.

 

  
“Where did you tell Blip you were going?” Ginny asks him when she opens the door for him later that night.

“Here…” he steps in with a box of pizza and a two bottles of a drink she didn’t catch the name of. “ _No_ , he didn’t say anything and _no_ , I didn’t either.”

“I don’t care.” She rushes out, forcing him to stop in the living room. They share a weird look — one that is both confused and a little concerned — but he recovers faster than she does and plops down into the couch with a groan as she locks the front door. She’s never responded to that before. But she couldn’t help the rush of words. She used to check if anyone had seen him walking in — back when she cared what others were going to say — but she got over that.

“Half cheese for you, everything else for me.” He clarifies as she steps over his feet, slipping between the couch and low coffee table. He gives her a knowing look. “Nope, you should have told me what you wanted on your half when I asked earlier.”

“How about I just keep the pizza and kick you out?” She challenges, crossing her arms.

“Rude.” He sits back, tossing his arm over the back of the couch. “Eat the whole thing… I’m not really hungry.”

“You literally just said— “

“You enjoy arguing with me just for the fuck of it, don’t you?” He laughs. “I’m being a gentleman, damn it.”

She licks her thumb after she picks off a pepperoni round and pops it into her mouth. “ _Mostly_.” She smirks, then suddenly points at him, “I’m keeping you young.”

Mike snorts, crossing his arms. “Oh, sure.” He sinks deeper into the couch. He inclines his chin to the tv, “What’re we watching?”

“50 First Dates…” she sighs, still picking at the pizza. He smiles at her… watching her pick at a slice of pizza was oddly one of the few things that remind him of how young she is. She swallows thickly, setting her slice of pizza back in the open box and grabs one of the bottles he’s brought. She opens it and takes a sip, making a face — making him laugh — as she sets the bottle back down.

“They only had sparkling water…” he shrugs, “Don’t ask.”

“Ooookay…” she brushes a hand through her hair, turning the shorter curls over the natural part of her hair.

“What movie is this one the list?” He asks, still watching the tv.

“You mean the never ending list of movies Evelyn is making me watch because ‘ _I’ve missed so much_ ’?” She sits back next to him, her shoulder pressed to his side. “Mm… number 15… I think I have like 100 left. I swear she thinks I was frozen in ice for a century…” he snorts, his hand moves from the back on the couch to her bare shoulder as he watches the movie.

“It was only 70 year— “

“Oh my god, shut up.” She laughs.

They fell into silence, both watching the tv, but not really. They’d steal glances at each other, both wondering if the other really had no clue about the feelings they had for the other.

  
A million different things ran through Mike’s head, all of it revolving around the young woman sitting next to him. He wordlessly brushes Ginny’s hair from her neck, fingers skimming her skin. He wonders back to what the hell he’d been doing before her. Really, he couldn’t remember.

Since she’d popped up in his life, she has been a priority — whether he had originally liked it or not — but he’s learned rather quickly that he’d have it no other way. Sure, he’s had his moments of fighting it off — and they’d both like to forget some of the ways he’s tried — but he’s resigned himself to the truth; there is no changing anything. He’s completely enamored by her, completely and utterly caught up in her and who she is.

Not since his ex wife has he cared for another person as much as her. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say he cares more for her. He wants her to succeed and to keep going. And not for anyone else but herself. He knows about the differences she’d had with her dad, and he knows she struggles sometimes. She’s told him that for a while, she didn’t know if she wanted to be in the Majors for herself or for her dad, but she’s here. And she’s doing it. Mike knows it doesn’t matter, but he’s proud of her.

It’s how he knows he could be in love with her… just a little. _Maybe_.

He doesn’t know how to put it into words. It doesn’t feel like some burning inferno. It’s warm and fuzzy and all the other good things he’ll randomly think of when he looks at her. There’s a fondness he can’t explain but knows it’s only for her. It’s weird. But he’s accepted it.  
Mike’s pulled away from his thoughts when Ginny turns off the tv and then turns her body towards him. Her knee is bent between them. He simply watches her as she takes his hand and examines it. She compares the lines of their hands, and the size difference with a small smile. She’s just killing time, but he doesn’t mind. He lets her take her time, but can’t help but think this is the lead up to a conversation they need to have.

She looks up at him, still holding his hand in her lap. He shifts, turning toward her slightly. His rests his elbow on the back on the couch and closes his fist, leaning his cheek on his hand.

  
“What are we doing?” She asks softly, looking down as she presses their open palms together. He clasps his hand around hers and she lets their hands fall down to his thigh.

He sighs and shrugs. “I don’t really know…”

  
She scoots closer to him, and lets her head fall to the side, crumpling into the couch. For the first time, he doesn’t really have an answer to a question she asks.

She suddenly feels like she shouldn’t have said anything.

“I’ve been trying to figure it out.” Mike begins. “And none of the explanations make sense.” His brows crease and she can see all the lines in his face that give away that he’s over ten years older than her. It’s never bothered her. In that moment though, she’s overly aware of what people will say if she’s right about where this conversation is headed. He clears his throat, calling her attention — she’d spaced out — even though she was looking directly at him. “Only thing I really know is that I don’t care if it’s not _supposed_ to be this way.” He looks at her hoping she gets what he’s saying, that he doesn’t care if people think it’s wrong for them to want to be together.

Ginny nods, seemingly satisfied. There would have been a time where the amount of intimacy in the moment would have crushed her. But she likes it and can’t run from it. And she’s happy to be there with him. She turns and moves to sit almost in his lap. She leans her head back to rest of his shoulder. “Me neither.” She says softly.

He takes her hand and kisses the top of it, and she feels him relax as he wraps her in a hug.

  
There’s a whole lot left unsaid. But it feels like a big step has been made.

But as she should have expected, Mike has to get one more line in… “Pizza’s cold.” She laughs loudly, her giggles make him chuckle as he buries his face in her hair.


End file.
